Aged Up
by DyingofFeels
Summary: What if Ventus's body actually grew 10 years older when he woke up? And how would Aqua react to it?


I got this idea from somewhere on the Internet but I don't remember where it was from. Here's my take on it though.

Without further ado...

* * *

For years now, there had been one thing that Aqua wanted with all her heart: to wake Ven and find Terra. One of those wishes were now coming to pass. Aqua raced up the stairs, her heart pounding with excitement. It was a great feeling, a feeling she didn't realize she had missed until now. How long had it been since she had anything to look forward to?

"Aqua, slow down!" Sora called.

"So.. many... stairs…" Donald panted. Goofy patted his back in support, his long legs making it so he didn't have a problem keeping up.

Aqua shot them a sheepish smile. "Sorry," She waited a moment longer for them to catch their breath. Sora… he looked so different from how he was when she first met him on Destiny Islands. While her mind understood that it had been ten years, but her heart still had a hard time believing it thanks to time passing differently in the Realm of Darkness. "Ready?"

He nodded and they continued up the castle, this time with Aqua reluctantly slowing down a bit more for the others. Adrenaline rushed through her body pushing her to move faster but she knew Ven could wait a few more seconds.

They _finally _reached the Chamber of Waking. Aqua saw the giant chair first before her eyes rested on Ven. Reality hit her like a pile of bricks, so visceral that she stumbled back a little.

Ven looked nothing like how she remembered him. His hair, possibly the boy's best identifying feature, was long and a disheveled mess that was now completely leaning on the side that he slept on. He even had a small, blonde beard now. His clothes were clearly too small for his body as well, with the pants not being able to cover his longer legs.

"Aqua?" Goofy's voice snapped her out of her daze.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked. Aqua sighed.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry." She turned to Sora. "You said that you knew how to wake him up?"

Sora's eyes brightened. "Oh yeah!" He held up a finger signaling to wait and closed his eyes.

Aqua walked closer to Ven, eager for him to wake up. She stroked his messy hair and sighed. People always said that time went by fast but this was ridiculous. She didn't know whether the thought made her want to laugh or cry so she shoved it out of her mind.

Sora opened his eyes and smiled at her just as Ven began to stir. Her attention snapped to the boy (no, man) as he yawned. "Aqua?"

"Good morning, Ven." Aqua replied, like she always used to say so long ago. So, it was no surprise to her that she immediately broke down after uttering that phrase, hugging him to her chest. "I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

"What are you talking about?"

She shook her head. "Look at yourself." She whispered, voice shaking.

It was only then that he seemed to notice that there was a difference with his body. "Am I taller?"

Aqua laughed at that being his first observation. He always was miffed about his height in comparison to her and Terra. She pulled away and wiped her tears. "Much taller."

Sora walked up to them now that their reunion moment seemed to be over. "Hi, Ven. I'm Sora."

Ven stared at Sora in shock as if he was seeing someone else. Aqua knew who it was. He looked exactly like Vanitas other than his hair. "Sora? You're Sora?"

"Yes?" Sora laughed. "Actually you look just like someone I know, but older."

Ven tilted his head. "Really? Wait, how long has it been? Aqua?" He turned to Aqua and she looked away, guilt eating at her stomach.

"It's been ten years."

Ven made a choking noise. "Ten?!"

"You didn't know?" Sora asked.

Ven shook his head. "It's been a bit of a blur while I was in your heart." He looked at his hands. "Ten years…"

"I'm sorry it took so long to come back." Aqua said. "I was the only one who knew where you were so no one else could have gotten in. But I didn't think I would be trapped in the Realm of Darkness, especially for so long and-"

Ven stumbled back. "Wait, wait - the Realm of Darkness?! You've been in there for that long?"

"Yeah. All because I thought I could save Terra when really, I saved Xehanort." Tears started to prick her eyes but she forced it down. "You were right, I really am terrible."

"No you're not!" Ven pulled her in for a hug. Oh god, he was taller than she was now. "You did what you thought was best. It'll take some time to get used to this body sure, but I'll be fine." He paused. "I'm so sorry for what I said." His voice broke. "I didn't mean it."

Great, she was crying again. She buried her face in his chest in a vain attempt to hide it. She should have it together, darn it.

She felt a feathery hand on her arm. "It's ok to be sad sometimes." Donald said, eyebrows scrunched up in sadness. "You've been through so much."

"Gawrsh, I don't know how I would have survived in the Realm of Darkness. And all alone too." Goofy added.

"Yeah, seriously. I was only there for a little while and I wanted out. You're not terrible, you're amazing!" Sora said.

Aqua smiled at everyone, still teary-eyed, but her heart felt lighter than it had ever been for a long, long time.

"Let's go find Terra together." Ven declared.

Aqua nodded back at those words, still unsure that she wouldn't start crying if she spoke. But at least if she did, this time it wouldn't be out of sadness or regret.

They would be from joy.

* * *

Yeah, I decided not to include Vanitas and just have Sora learn the Power of Waking through the Disney worlds. It was mostly for the sake of the flow for this fanfic.

I may or may not do another chapter like this for Terra depending on whether I'm interested and reader request.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! :D


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